Born on July 16, 1973, one of South Africa’s finest all-rounders Shaun Pollock was born in Port Elizabeth. He came up during an era when arguably one of the best all-rounders ever Jacques Kallis was taking giant strides in international cricket. However, Pollock too produced some brilliant performances and produced many match-winning spells and innings for sides. On his birthday, let’s take a look at some interesting points about Pollock.

Family of cricketers: Pollock comes from a family of cricketers. However, only his father Peter and uncle Graeme went on to play Test cricket for South Africa. However, his grandfather, great uncle Robert Howden and cousins Andrew Pollock and Anthony Pollock too played First-Class cricket. He made his Test debut when his father was the convener of selectors for South Africa.

Born on July 13, 1984, Francois du Plessis is South Africa’s Test captain. An elegant right-handed batsman and best friend of AB de Villiers is considered to be one of the finesh cricketer from the nation. On his birthday, let’s take a look at some interesting facts about him.

Rugby and cricket

While studying in primary school, du Plessis played rugby at the time when shoulder pads were not introduced. He loved kicking and running with the ball but not the massive fan of tackling but his dad often forced him as he was proffessional rugby player and had represented Northern Transvaal in the 80s. Because of his father, du Plessis often felt that he wanted him to be rugby player than a cricketer. But since he find better in cricket and at the age of 16, du Plessis took the decision of preferring cricket over rugby. He also broke his wrist while playing rugby and missed two months of cricket, which he thinks is the major reason to not play rugby.

Born on July 6, 1977, Makhaya Ntini is regarded as one of the finest bowlers to have ever played for South Africa. He reached quite a few highs but was also had many lows in 24-year career, which included 11 years of international cricket. On his 40th birthday, let us have a look at some interesting facts about the former South African fast bowler

First black to represent South Africa: South Africa have a troubled history when it comes to their black population. However, there are certain individuals like Ntini, who broke those barriers and represented their nation at the highest level. Ntini made his One-Day International debut in January 1998 against New Zealand and then a test debut followed a couple of months later against Sri Lanka. South Africa won on both occasions, with Ntini putting up a good display.

India’s MS Dhoni on Friday completed 600 catches as a wicket-keeper in his career across all formats. Hashim Amla became his 600th victim. Dhoni became the third wicket-keeper in the world to achieve the feat and is only behind Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist. Let us have a look at top five wicket-keepers with most catches in an international career.

Australian players want David Warner to be removed from the team hotel after he was seen partying with friends despite so many controversies and players want to avoid any scuffle after ball-tampering scandal.

Consistency is most important part of any game. Cricket is no different. A batsman is mostly judged by the runs they make or the centuries they have to their name. The greatness of any batsmen for sure is defined by the number of centuries he has scored or the match-winning innings he has played. Here are players with the most number of international tons to their name.

Virat Kohli is in form of his life in ongoing India’s tour of South Africa. Indian skipper has four centuries and two fifties to his name after 10 games that includes three Tests, six one-dayers, and one T20I as of now. Virat Kohli emerged the highest run-getter from either side in both the Test and ODI series.

Indian cricketers have been very particular about their diet under the leadership of Virat Kohli and they are asking for all their favourite Indian dishes in the Rainbow Nation as well. From Dal Makhni to Chicken Rezala – we reveal what Team India player s have been eating during the tour.

The Indian cricket team has been on a roll in South Africa. Putting behind them a forgettable start, the Virat Kohli-led side has challenged the South African cricket team across formats in their backyard like no other.

India clinched their maiden ODI series win on South African after taking an unbeatable 4-1 lead after beating Proteas by 73 runs in the fifth ODI at the St. George’s Park. With this win, India also became the No.1 team in the ICC ODI rankings.

After being knocked back in the fourth ODI, Team India will look to bounce back in the fifth ODI to take 4-1 lead in the six-match series. Virat Kohli & Co. lost the fourth ODI by 5 wickets in a rain-curtailed match. Here are some reasons why should one watch the fifth ODI at Port Elizabeth.

Rabada and Morne Morkel will carry the fast-bowling mantle in the absence of Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, which will be another opportunity to grow and expose the pace resources in the Proteas setup.

England came bouncing back after a massive defeat at Nottingham at the hands of South Africa in the four-match series, to take a 2-1 lead at the Oval. In a series where the equilibrium has shifted in a see-saw or hourglass pattern, whatever you wish to call it, England now look like they have one hand on the trophy.

England came bouncing back after a massive defeat at Nottingham at the hands of South Africa in the four-match series, to take a 2-1 lead at the Oval. In a series where the equilibrium has shifted in a see-saw or hourglass pattern, whatever you wish to call it, England now look like they have one hand on the trophy.

England have announced three debutants ahead of their third Test against South Africa at The Oval. Tom Westley, Toby Roland-Jones and Dawid Malan make their Test bows. While Roland-Jones and Malan have made their ODI and T20I debuts for England, Westley will play his first ever international match for the Three Lions. England, in this crucial match, have won the toss and elected to bat first.

Last time England played three debutants was in 2014 against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. The were Chris Jordan, Sam Robson and Moeen Ali.

Westley’s participation in the game was already announced a few days ago. He replaces the injured Gary Ballance. Mark Wood’s heel injury gives way for Roland-Jones. Malan’s was a surprise pick. He comes into the side in place of Liam Dawson. Roland-Jones has been in excellent form for his County side Middlesex. He in fact picked up a hat-trick in the previous edition’s County final to help his side win the title. Westley, on the other hand, has been a consistent performer for Essex over the years.

England and South Africa lock horns in the third Test at The Oval. The four-match series is currently level at 1-1. After winning the first Test at Lord’s comprehensively, England lost the second game at Trent Bridge by 340 runs. This will be a crucial game in the context of the series.

Team news

South Africa have released JP Dumiiny from the squad after a poor run of form. He was dropped for the second Test. As a result, South Africa have added Aiden Markem as the batting cover for the left-handed batsman. South Africa may not want to make any changes to their XI considering the kind of form they showed in the second Test.

England, on the other hand, have confirmed that they will hand a debut to at least two of their players. Essex batsman Tom Westley will take the No. 3 slot in place of Gary Ballance. Also, Middlesex bowler Toby Roland-Jones, who made his ODI debut recently will play his first Test, in place of Mark Wood, who had been ruled out due to a heel injury. Dawid Malan too was added to the England squad. However, it seems as though he will have to wait for a chance to make his Test debut, having done a commendable job in his maiden T20I appearance.

South African batsman JP Duminy will be returning home ahead of the third Test match against England at The Oval, reported the DNA. South Africa’s management said on Monday that the left-handed batsman would return home and will not be a part of the South Africa Test squad for the next two Tests left in the series. One wonders if this is a sign of an end to Duminy’s Test career?

South Africa ODI captain AB de Villiers and his wife Danielle have been blessed with a baby boy – their second child. De Villiers confirmed this news on social media.

De Villiers wrote on Instagram, “John Richard de Villiers was born at 11 am on Monday the 17th and both Danielle and John are safe at home. My wife is the most amazing woman and once again showed incredible courage and strength through all of this.” His AB Jr. was born on June 23, 2015. De Villiers was on national duty in Bangladesh but flew back to welcome his child.

De Villiers recently led South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, where his side crashed out of the tournament in the group stage. However, he returned to England to lead his side in the T20I series against England, where his side lost the series 2-1.

South African pacer Morne Morkel might think of bidding farewell from Tests cricket and consider playing only One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Morkel is currently the spearhead of South African pace attack and at 32, he is probably at the pinnacle of his career. As reported by ESPNCricinfo, Morkel feels his career is “nearly finished” and will discuss with Cricket South Africa after England tour regarding his future.

Like his teammates AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, Morkel do not think that he will be able to make it to 2019 World Cup as the final point of his caree, despite featuring in ODIs recently. When asked about till how long he is looking to play international cricket, Morkel did not mentioned any time-frame but hinted not long.

England have announced a 13-man squad for the third Test against South Africa at The Oval. Essex batsman Tom Westley and Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan have received their maiden Test call-ups. Malan has however played one T20I for England, which came against South Africa recently. He scored a man of the match winnings score of 78 off 44 at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

Gary Ballance was ruled out of the third Test due to a hand injury. Westley has been in impressive form in the domestic circuit. He has scored two centuries in the Championship and has scored 478 runs at 53.11. Malan on the other hand averages 42.50 in the Championship with 115 being his highest score. There were fears over fast bowler Mark Wood’s inclusion, but a scan revealed that he does not have any serious injuries.

Former South Africa cricketer Herschelle Gibbs has made a big statement over the ongoing national coach issue. Russell Domingo, who took over the role of South Africa coach from Gary Kirsten in May 2013, has made quite a few headlines regarding his future as head coach. Meanwhile, Gibbs feels that the South African side need an Australian coach with no nonsense attitude.

Domingo’s contract is due to end after the completion of South Africa’s tour of England and had reapplied for the post as well. In an interaction with Sports24, Gibbs stated his views by saying, “I like their approach to the game and the fact that they don’t put up with nonsense. I’d like to see a new approach. Something new and fresh won’t do any harm. I think that can only be achieved through outside input.”

Kevin Pietersen, who is considered to be one of the greatest batsman to have played for England is eyeing return to international cricket. Well, he has been eyeing to return since he was dropped from the side after 2013-14 Ashes. But this time, he is aiming to make his comeback by representing South African Cricket Team.

Recently, in an interview, the 37-year old Pietersen said that he is going to play a lot of cricket in next two years and then will think what the future holds for him. “I’m going to be playing a lot of cricket in South Africa over the next two years, so we’ll see. I love batting: I will bat for as long as I love the art of batting. I do at the moment, but I’m an old man now, I’ve just hurt my calf, I didn’t field. Who knows where I’ll be in two years’ time? If I enjoy batting, we’ll see where I get to. I’m in a very happy place.”, Pietersen said.

Jacques Kallis was indeed a jack of all trades (excuse the pun). For years the South African carried his team on his broad shoulders. The kind of Test all-rounder that teams around the world still search for endlessly, Kallis will always be a legend of the game. When he retired he was South Africa’s highest run-scorer (still is) and fifth highest wicket-taker in Tests.

And so there had to be a void. For long they’ve tried combinations and tried to fit in an all-rounder to go with the team balance in Tests, but have never really found someone as capable and reliable as him. But at Trent Bridge, after a massive 340-run win against England in the second Test, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was way too impressed by Vernon Philander, thought otherwise.

“He is becoming the new Jacques Kallis the way he is batting. We joke about it because his technique is becoming the same as Kallis’ as well,” du Plessis said.

South Africa bounced back in the second Test at Trent Bridge with a 340-run win against England. Vernon Philander played a major part in the victory. He scored 54 and 42 with the bat and followed it up with 5 wickets with the ball to bag the player of the match award.

Skipper Faf du Plessis was impressed with Philander’s efforts in this and the first Test at Lord’s, saying that the all-rounder is Jacques Kallis in the making. He’s (Phillander) becoming the new Jacques Kallis the way he’s batting,” according to Sport24

“He’s a fantastic cricketer. When there’s something there (in the pitch), he’s probably the best in the world at doing something with it,” he added.

Du Plessis then goes on to talk about the team changes, following their 211-run drubbing at Lord’s. “We left a batsman out to play two all-rounders, with that comes extra responsibility,” said the captain.

Hello and welcome to live score and updates of the 1st semi-final between England Women and South Africa Women at County Ground, Bristol. England had an amazing run in league stage of the tournament by winning 6 out of 7 matches and their only defeats came against India. On the other hand, Dan van Niekerk-led South Africa won 4 out of 7 and lost 2. Both the teams will be clashing for the second time in the tournament. The first time they met in the league stage, where South Africa lost by 68 runs against England while chasing a mammoth total of 374. However, South Africa Women showed applaudable application by scoring 305 despite losing.

For England, this will be the 4th semi-final appearance in World Cup history. Previous two times they reached semis in 1997 and 2005. They lost both the times. While this will be the 2nd appearance in semis for South Africa. Their only semis play happened in 2000 edition, which they lost to Australia by 9 wickets. The overall head to head favours England with 26 wins from 34 matches and 7 defeats.

England captain Joe Root has hit back at former captain Michael Vaughan after his stinging criticism of the English team after South Africa thrashed them in the second Test of the series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The defeat meant the series is now finely poised at 1-1 and there with two Test matches still to go.

Joe Root got a good taste of the harsh realities of Test cricket as a leader after a stunning start where his English side thrashed South Africa in the first Test of the series at Lords. But the return of influential captain Faf du Plessis completely reinvigorated South Africa and they put up a brilliant performance at Trent Bridge to level up the series.

South Africa have thrashed England in the second Test at Trent Bridge by 340 runs and have leveled the 4-match series 1-1. England lost all their 10 wickets on Day Four and were bowled out for just 133, handing South Africa a huge win in the process.

Only former England captain Alastair Cook offered resistance in the second innings, scoring a gritty 42. However, he did not get any support from the other end. Barring Cook, only three other players got into the double figures. Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj were the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, finishing with three wickets apiece in the second innings.

In pursuit of 474, England lost their first wicket in the second over of the fourth day. From there they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and looked in no situation in successfully negotiating the day, which would have fetched them a draw.

England speedster becomes the first fast bowler to pick up 300 wickets at home. He achieved this feat during Day One of the second Test against South Africa at Trent bridge. Overall, he is the fourth bowler to achieve this feat. He joins the likes of Shane Warne (319), Anil Kumble (350) and Muttiah Muralitharan (493) in the list.

Anderson with the wicket of Dean Elgar in the ninth over of the match got his 300th wicket at home. Anderson is England’s leading wicket-taker with over 400 scalps to his name. He could very soon become the first England player to 500 wickets. He also has 269 ODI runs and 18 T20I scalps as well.

South Africa ended in a relatively comfortable position, with Vernon Philander and Chris Morris at the crease. South Africa will hope to ride home their advantage on the second day. England on the other hand will look to pick up early wickets on Day 2.

England and South Africa are playing the second Test match at Trent Bridge. All the eleven players in the South Africa are playing with the black band tied on their arms. The black band is a small gesture by the Proteas to the news of passing away of South African cricket team coach Russell Domingo.

The players through this gesture want to show solidarity with the Domingo family in this sad time.

Former South Africa captain Hashim Amla becomes 4th Proteas batsman to touch 8,000-run mark in Tests after Jacques Kallis (13,206 runs), Graeme Smith (9,253) and AB de Villiers (8,074). Overall, Amla become 30th batsman to achieve this feat in Tests. Amla reached the landmark during the ongoing 2nd Test between England and South Africa at Trent Bridge in the first innins of the match. Before this Test, Amla needed 8 runs to complete 8,000 Test runs. However, Amla is the slowest South African to reach this landmark and 8th slowest overall.

It took him 178 Test innings to complete 8,000-run mark. Moreover, it took him 12 years 228 days to to reach this feat. Amla made his Test debut in November 2004 and had a shaky start to his career. But soon, he grasped the momentum and became one of the most important part of South Africa’s Test side. His career changing series was against India in 2007-08, where he scored 307 runs at 61.4. He is the only South African to score a triple hundred in Tests, which came against England at The Oval in 2012. England has been his favourite opponent, when it comes to score big runs.

England has not been kind to South Africa in the last two months. They got a drubbing in the ODI series, then in the T20I series. The first Test match at Lord’s did not change anything as well for South Africa. England were well-prepared for the Lord’s Test and captain Joe Root showed them the way. It was a not a great match for South Africa in any way. They did not just lose the match, one of their players, Kagiso Rabada, was also handed a Test match ban.

Moeen Alis career best bowling performance helps England bundle South Africa for 119 to win the first Test at Lords by 211 runs in Joe Roots captaincy debut. Moeen finished with 10 wickets in this match and also struck a valiant 87 in the first innings, which included a 177-run stand with Root for the sixth wicket, which resurrected Englands innings.

England resumed the day in a comfortable position at 119-1 with Alastair Cook and Gary Ballance at the crease. They had a lead of 216 runs with 9 wickets in hand. However, South Africa bounced back extremely well in the first session of Day Four, but were reduced to 182-8 at lunch. South Africa surely had the upper hand at that stage, but Mark Wood (28) and Jonny Bairstow (51), batted well right at the end to ensure South Africa were set a 331-run target.

South Africa in their chase never really looked top get going. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and as a result, with Temba Bavuma the only player to score over 20. Moeen perhaps had the best match of his career, who became the only England player after Ian Botham to pick up 10 wickets and score a fifty in the same match. Lords being a slightly spinner-friendly track, also helped Liam Dawson to pick up a couple of wickets in South Africas second innings.

Moeen Ali’s career best bowling performance helps England bundle South Africa for 119 to win the first Test at Lord’s by 211 runs in Joe Root’s captaincy debut. Moeen finished with 10 wickets in this match and also struck a valiant 87 in the first innings, which included a 177-run stand with Root for the sixth wicket, which resurrected England’s innings.

England resumed the day in a comfortable position at 119-1 with Alastair Cook and Gary Ballance at the crease. They had a lead of 216 runs with 9 wickets in hand. However, South Africa bounced back extremely well in the first session of Day Four, but were reduced to 182-8 at lunch. South Africa surely had the upper hand at that stage, but Mark Wood (28) and Jonny Bairstow (51), batted well right at the end to ensure South Africa were set a 331-run target.

South Africa in their chase never really looked top get going. They kept losing wickets at regular intervals and as a result, with Temba Bavuma the only player to score over 20. Moeen perhaps had the best match of his career, who became the only England player after Ian Botham to pick up 10 wickets and score a fifty in the same match. Lord’s being a slightly spinner-friendly track, also helped Liam Dawson to pick up a couple of wickets in South Africa’s second innings.

It has been a special connection of cricketers with actors. Not only in India but also across the globe. Among the actors across the globe, British actors are known to be avid cricket follower. One of the famous British actor Tom Felton, who is famously known for playing the role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series paid visit at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground during the ongoing 1st Test between England and South Africa.

When asked how it means to visit Lord’s, Tom expresses, “Coming to Lord’s is always at an amazing event every summer now for last decade or so and what a day to be back. Sun is shinning. People here in good spirits.”

South Africa could add only 147 runs to their overnight score of 214 for 5 on Day three of the first Test against England at Lord’s. After gaining crucial 97-run lead, England continued their strong hold in the Test by ending 3rd day of the match with 119 for 1 and leading by 214.

The day three of the match resumed with South African being at 214 for 5, Temba Bavuma batting at 48 along with Kagiso Rabada at 9 off 12. After facing 42 deliveries more and adding 18 more to his score, Rabada was the first man to be dismissed on day three of the match for 27. Further, Bavuma completed his fifty and could add only 11 more to his previous day’s score as Moeen Ali once again came in action to dismiss him for 59.

South Africa’s ace fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been suspended by International Cricket Council for one Test for the bowler was caught saying heated words to England batsmen on the second day of the first Test at Lord’s.

In the process, Rabada got the fourth demerit point of the ICC’s Code of Conduct. The fast bowler had three points for getting involved in a heated exchange with Sri Lanka’s Niroshan Dickwella during an ODI game in early 2017.

After he used ‘inappropriate language’ for Ben Stokes after his dismissal, he earned the fourth demerit point and as per ICC ruled, it calls for a suspension of one game.

Joe Root could only add six more runs to his overnight score as he was dismissed caught behind for 190 on Day Two of the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s. After bowling England out for 458, South Africa ended Day Two at 214-5, still trailing England by 244 runs.

England resumed Day Two at 357-5, with Moeen Ali and Root at the crease batting on 61 and 184 respectively. The 177-run stand between Root and Moeen was finally broken by Morne Morkel, who bowled well throughout the innings. Liam Dawson was out LBW couple of deliveries later for a duck. South Africa would have felt that they can knock over England for under 400. But that is when Moeen and Stuart Broad joined hands and started going for their shots immediately. They put on 46 for the eighth wicket in quick succession before Moeen was cleaned up by Kagiso Rabada, 13 short of his century.

All-rounder Moeen Ali becomes the seventh England player to get to the 2,000 runs and 100 wickets double. He achieved this feat in on Day Two of the first Test between England and South Africa at Lord’s.

Moeen went past 2,000 runs when he made 87 0ff 147 deliveries in England’s first innings and when South Africa batted, he Removed Dean Elgar for 54 and Hashim Amla for 29 to pick up 100 Test wickets. Moeen joins the likes of Wilfred Rhodes, Trevor Bailey, Tony Greig, Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff and Stuart Broad.

Joe Root slams a superb ton on captaincy debut to take England to a commanding 387-5 on Day One of the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s. This was Root’s 12th ton in Tests.

Root came into bat at No. 4, after Vernon Philander had removed England openers Alastair Cook for 3 and Keaton Jennings for 8. England had lost further two more wickets in the form of Gary Ballance (20) and Jonny Bairstow (10) and went into lunch in a spot of bother at 82-4.

Root and Ben Stokes resumed post lunch and turned the match in England’s favour. The played sensibly and did not let the South African bowlers get on top. However, Root had a couple of early escapes in his innings before lunch, when he was dropped on a couple of occasions, but then cashed in on it to score a big hundred. Root put on 114 for the fifth wicket with Stokes and India reached a respectable position.

The 4-match Test series between England and South Africa commences from the 6th of July at Lord’s and promises to be a thoroughly exhilarating contest between two truly competitive sides. South Africa, the No.2 Test team in the world has been almost impeccable in the format and England, playing at home, will be a very tough team to beat. Hence, we have an exciting and hard-fought series on the cards.

With some supremely talented players in both the sides, there are likely to be some who will stand out the most. Here is a look at the five players who can make an impact in this Test series.

It would not be wrong to say that the first Test between South Africa and England has seen too many twists and turns even before its start. South Africa was confused a month back as who will lead their team in the first Test. Faf du Plessis, their regular Test skipper, was not supposed to be available because of personal reasons. AB de Villiers had already declared that he won’t be available for selection in Tests.

The first Test of Basil D’Oliveira Trophy between England and South Africa will be played at iconic Lord’s. South Africa who recently beat New Zealand in New Zealand and whitewashed Sri Lanka at home, looks confident side. However, South Africa will take field without couple of big players — AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis. On the other side, England’s last series was agaisnt India, which they badly lost by 4-0. The interesting part of this Test is that both the team’s captain — Dean Elgar of South Africa and Joe Root of England, will lead their respective side’s for the fist time. Ahead of this 1st contest of the series, let us take a look at some interesting numbers.

984 — This will be 984th Test for England, 507th in England, 412th for South Africa, 134th at Lord’s and 68th between England and South Africa.

New England captain has named the XI for the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s. Root will captain the side for the first time since taking over the captaincy from Alastair Cook.

Liam Dawson has been retained in the side having made his Test debut in the final Test against India. Gary Ballance, who was brought into the side in place of Haseeb Hameed finds a place in the XI and is most likely to come in at No. 3 after Cook and Keaton Jennings. Root will occupy the No. 4 position, followed by wicketkeeper Jonny Bairtow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Dawson.

Middlesex fast bowler Toby Roland-Jones has once again been overlooked. James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood ill be leading the bowling attack in this match. South Africa had earlier announced that Dean Elgar will lead South Africa in place of Faf du Plessis, who flew home to welcome his first born. As a result, we will have two first time captains.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes that the talks of Gary Ballance batting at number 3, worries him. Ballance made the return to the England Test squad against South Africa starting on July 6 after scoring plenty of runs in the County Championships.

Vaughan, in his column for the Daily Telegraph wrote, “Ballance batting at three worries me.”

“He is in fine confident form with a volume of runs for Yorkshire behind him but [Morne] Morkel, [Kagiso] Rabada and Vernon Philander are a different proposition. The last time he played for England and batted at three he had success against slower attacks. When he had to face three bowlers consistently bowling at more than 85mph he was found out,” he wrote

South Africa coach Russell Domingo has reapplied for the team’s coaching job. His contract expires in August. Earlier Domingo had hinted that he was not going to continue as the coach of the South African side but all such reports have gone for a toss.

In an interview given to ESPNcricinfo, he said, “I have forwarded my application form and I have gone through an interview.”

Domingo said that his team has a lot to achieve and that includes an ICC silverware. He said, “There’s a lot I’d like to achieve with this side – an ICC event is a big thing for us. We’ve also started the process of rebuilding our Test side. We’re still not where we need to be, we’ve got our ranking back up but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

With only 5-day to go for the 1st Test of Basil D’Oliveira Trophy at the iconic Lord’s, hosts England have announced their 12-man squad for the match against South Africa. The surprise element in the squad is the inclusion of Gary Ballance. The 27-year left-handed batsman from Yorkshire has been in good form in the ongoing County season of division one.

Ballance has scored 815 runs from 8 matches at 101.87 in this County season. He is only behind Kumar Sangakkara’s 1,086 runs in this season. Uncapped Middlesex pacer Toby Roland-Jones and spinner Liam Dawson are also part of this 12-man squad.

South African cricketer Faf Du Plessis announced the birth of his newborn baby on Twitter, the picture he posted had his finger being held by the baby’s tiny hands. Faf Du Plessis is certainly going to have long years of fatherhood ahead of him, and the picture definitely conveys more than words can say.

Faf Du Plessis was expected to miss out on the opening Test of the four-match series against England due to his wife giving birth in early July. Now that the baby has been born early, it remains to be seen what decision he makes regarding the Test series.

Steve Smith, who played alongside Faf Du Plessis in the Rising Pune Supergiants during the IPL, recently had his own personal life changes when he proposed to longtime girlfriend Dani Willis at the Rockefeller Centre in New York. The two announced their engagement on Instagram and Smith captioned the picture with ‘Today I got down on one knee and @dani_willis said YES.’

Faf Du Plessis may carry on with the Test series, or he may decide that it would be better to spend some time as family during the early days of his newborn. Steve Smith did something similar when he took a six-day break from the IPL 2017 to spend some time with family. It’s really Faf Du Plessis’ decision in the end, and we wish him peace on starting a family.

Former South African captain Graeme Smith said that his advice to AB de Villiers will be to do away with the ODI captaincy and concentrate alone on batting. He was quoted as saying on Wisden Cricket, “My advice to him would be to step away from the captaincy, and concentrate his energy into maintaining his levels in white ball cricket for the next two years.”

He added, “Put simply, if that is what’s best for him and the longevity of his career, then that is what’s best for South African cricket.”

Smith said that ABD has already made huge sacrifices for the South African cricket. In his words, “AB has already made huge sacrifices for South African cricket, over such a long period of time, and with the next ICC World Cup just two years away, it’s likely that he is targeting that tournament as a swansong to his already illustrious career at the top level.”

Eoin Morgan’s gamble of dropping himself and playing an unknown commodity of Dawid Malan worked wonder for England as they thrashed South Africa by 19 runs in the 3rd T20I to take the series 2-1. After a brilliant start by England, where debutant Dawid Malan set the tone with a blistering start. His free-flowing stroke-play kept the South African bowlers at bay as they had no answer to his assault. Right from straight lofts over long off to scoops over fine leg, there was no pattern to Malan’s innings and just pure destruction. Some handy runs down the order from Jos Buttler gave England a mighty boost but it was South Africa who did well in the death overs.

England take on South Africa in the third and final T20 International (T20I) at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. England will have a chance to seal the series at the same venue where they lost the semi-final of the ICC Champions 2017 against Pakistan and blew a chance to win the trophy at home.

South Africa on the other hand got out of jail when the clawed their way back into the series with a 3-run win in the second T20I at Taunton. South Africa too had a disappointing Champions Trophy and a win in the decider will do their confidence a world of good, leading up to the Test series.

Ben Stokes was in utter disbelief when Jason Roy was dismissed for obstructing the field in England’s second T20I against South Africa which South Africa ended up victorious in. The result meant that the series is finely poised at 1-1 with a game left to be played.

Ben Stokes has also been declared out for obstructing the field in an ODI match and he had this to say on his Twitter account:

Humdinger of a match as South Africa scrape a win and level the series at one apiece. de Villiers and Smuts produced the goods with the bat while experienced campaigner Morris chipped in with the ball to hand Proteas the win over England.

Hendricks failed to seize the opportunity yet again as he fell prey to debutant Curran. Mosehle promoted up the order, looked good in his short stay, before getting tangled and gloving one to Buttler. Miller’s miserable form continued as he managed only 8 runs. With wickets falling at one end, Smuts looked unperturbed as he played some blistering shots. His knock at the top was instrumental (45 runs off 35 balls).

England hammered away to a 9-wicket win over opponents England in the first T20 International (T20I) held at The Rose Bowl, Southampton. Jonny Bairstow struck a sublime unbeaten 60 off 35 to help England chase down a modest target of 143.

England got off to the perfect start after they they were asked to bowl first. David Willey struck with the first ball of his spell as he castled JJ Smuts for a golden duck. Mark Wood joined in the action, as he too, then grabbed a wicket of his very first ball.

England and South Africa lock horns in the the first T20 International (T20I) at Rose Bowl, Southampton. Both teams will be looking to put the disappointment of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 behind them and focus on the shortest version. Both England and South Africa were tipped to be favourites to win the tournament, but England crashed out at the semi-final stage, while South Africa could not make it past the group stages.

AB de Villiers to lead: De Villiers will captain the T20I side in the absence of Faf du Plessis, who has flown home post Champions Trophy to welcome his first child. Du Plessis will however be back for the Test series. De Villiers on the other hand will skip the Test series against England, which will pave way for du Plessis to take over the reins as captain. Star players like Hashim Amla and JP Duminy too will not feature in the T20I series.

England include new faces: While heavyweights like Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler will be around to guide the England youngsters, players like Joe Root, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball and Ben Stokes have been released from the T20I squad to play County cricket as a preparation for the four-Test series against the Proteas. As a result, Liam Livingstone, Mason Crane, Dawid Malan, Tom Curran and Craig Overton have been named in England’s 16-man squad. Also, Mark Wood will play only this match and will be released for the remaining two games. T20 specialist Tymal Mills, who impressed during England’s tour of India misses out due to a back injury.

South Africa and England will resume their rivalry in a three-match T20I series beginning from June 21. England and South Africa played out an One-Day International (ODI) series ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which England won 2-1. The action will now shift to the T20I series after which the two sides will play a four-Test series.

You can catch the live telecast of the match on Star Sports Select 1 and streaming on hotstar.com, however, the matches will be played at different time. Here are the full details:

South African cricketer Faf du Plessis will not be part of the national squad which will play the 3-match T20I series against England starting June 21. As per a report published in the Holding Willey, Du Plessis will be returning home to be with his wife Imari as they will blessed with their first child in early July.

Faf, however, wants to play the Test series against England which will begin on July 6th. He hopes that he is blessed with a baby early so that he joins the squad in time for the first Test. The T20I squad for South Africa will announced later this week. England have already announced their squad for the upcoming series.

Hashim Amla, JP Duminy will also be going back home, if the report is to be believed to get some rest before the four Test series begins. On the other hand, ODI and T20I skipper AB de Villiers had already announced that he will be missing the Test series against England. He, however, will be taking part in the T2OI series.

South African cricket coach Russell Domingo does not think that India are favourites to win the Champions Trophy. This statement has come after South Africa’s 8-wicket loss to India in the Champions Trophy on Sunday which also kicked them Proteas out of the tournament.

Domingo was quoted as saying in Hindustan Times, “India are not the favourites. Having seen the way the matches are panning out, there are no favourites.”

This edition of the Champions Trophy has already seen matches going down to the wire and some of the unexpected upsets happening. Two of the four semi-finalists are Pakistan and Bangladesh and nobody had given them any chance when the tournament began on June 1. This goes on to show that anything is possible in the semi-finals as well. England are set to play the first semi-final against Pakistan on June 14 while India are playing Bangladesh in the second final on June 15.

South African vice-captain Faf du Plessis has admitted that AB de Villiers getting run-out against India was his fault. South Africa choked badly in yet another big game and lost to India in a Group B encounter to get knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy despite being one of the favourites to win the tournament. South Africa lost three wickets through a run-out, raising further questions as to whether they had the necessary mental strength to win the big games.

Faf du Plessis though took all the blame for running AB de Villiers out, which started the South African collapse. “I take full responsibility for AB’s run-out. That’s my fault. Obviously he (de Villiers) is a big player for us and he was looking good and it was a crunch time in the game. Big mistake on my part running AB out.”

Team India put out a strong statement with a strong performance by comprehensively beating South Africa by 8 wickets in the virtual quarter-final. With this win, it’ll be India’s fifth consecutive semi-final appearance in ICC events, the joint second best streak for any team. For the majority of the game, India looked the stronger side right from the word go and looked more compact than South Africa in all the departments of the game. Another crunch game, another disastrous performance by South Africa and their legacy of choking in big matches has just added another chapter to its book.

When it mattered the most, the Indian team delivered. The men in blue were at their dominating best as they swatted aside a South African side, who again showed a lack of temperament on the big stage in a virtual quarterfinal in the ICC Champions Trophy. The result will again lead to questions being asked whether South Africa have it in them to win the big tournaments. India though will be hardly concerned with this and they will now looking forward to facing Bangladesh, in a match where they will be the undisputed favourites.

Twitter was full of praise for the Indian side for their dominating display against the South Africans. Here are some of the best reactions:

Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya was heckled and booed heavily during the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match between India and South Africa. Mallya visited the Kensington Oval in London to watch the match between India and South Africa. Indian fans reportedly shouted, “chor, chor” at him.

Vijay Mallya has been accused of absconding the country after he was widely reported to be arrested by the Indian authorities for various tax-related payments. He is now facing extradition proceedings in the UK courts to bring him back to India and bring him to justice. He was the owner of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and also owned various alcoholic beverages brands back in India. He also had an involvement in cricket owning the IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore. He still owns the Formula 1 team Force India. He allegedly still owes the Indian banks more than Rs 9000 crores.

India have stepped up their game in the must-win encounter against South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. The bowlers were terrific in their performance, not giving the world-class South African batting line-up an inch. South Africa could only register a score of 191 all out on the board, putting in a meek display in the big match, which will surely re-affirm their status as the biggest chokers in the game of cricket.

The India versus South Africa encounter at The Oval on Sunday has been the much touted one of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. After all, it is the World No. 1 ranked team facing off against the World No.2. And given the way things have panned out in the tournament thus far, the match is now a virtual quarter-final with the winner taking a spot in the semi-finals of the event and the loser getting knocked out.

Over the years, both South Africa and India have had some memorable and thrilling ODI clashes. The Proteas have dominated India on many occasions, but India has had the upper hand in important matches. Here is a look at five true classic India-South Africa ODI encounters.

Virat Kohli will have to battle all the demons off the field and some even on it as India lock horns with South Africa in a virtual quarter-final showdown at the Oval in the Champions Trophy.

Since the past three days, (Not including today’s match between England and Australia), the tournament has come out alive with first, Pakistan battering South Africa against all odds, Sri Lanka giving India a mighty scare and to top it all, Bangladesh’s unbelievable victory over New Zealand. All in all, this has been one of the better tournaments of this edition with less one-sided finishes and more of crucial games and the even battle between bat

New Zealand, winning the toss choosing to bat first, scored a below-par total of 265 runs on the board. The Black Caps had a decent start to their innings but lost two successive wickets in the span of 23 runs. Skipper Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor then stepped up to steady the ship, playing a partnership of 82 runs. The former, in the process, yet again proved his worth by scoring an impressive 69-ball 57 before being shown his way back to pavilion. Unlucky though.

Ross Taylor and Neil Broom then anchored a partnership, but the team failed to build anything positive on that. Coming to the last ten overs, the Black Caps lost the plot and lost successive wickets as well. Bangladesh bowlers, yet again, showed their class and restricted their opponents to just 265 runs. With that being said and done, here is how the Twitteratis react to New Zealand’s innings.

India has been beaten by Sri Lankans in their second Group B clash at The Oval and as unexpected as it sounds, this is the reality. When the tournament began, almost every cricket fans had guessed that India and South Africa will be the two teams going into the semifinals. But two upsets in two days, as Pakistan beat South Africa on Wednesday and Sri Lanka defeating India on Thursday, it turns out that either India or South Africa will go into the last 4. The Pakistan versus Sri Lanka game will decide the other semi-finalist from Group B.

But wait, the bafflement and surprise might not just end there. We all know that this edition of the Champions Trophy will be known more for the rain spoiling the day than matches going down the wire. And the rains have not left England yet. It could play a huge role in deciding who goes to the semis.

In the Group B encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy between Pakistan and South Africa, the Proteas have surprised one and all by donning a yellow jersey. South Africa are associated with their traditional green jersey’s which has been worn by some legendary players and is still wore by some of the best players in the world like AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis. The mystery of the yellow jersey has finally been revealed by the South African team itself.

Posting on their official Twitter handle, the South African Cricket team said:

South Africa AB de Villiers has won the toss and elected to field first in a Group B encounter of the ICC Champions Trophy between South Africa and Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham. South Africa have named an unchanged lineup. Pakistan have made two changes in their lineup, bringing in Fakhar Zaman and Junaid Khan for Ahmed Shehzad and Wahab Riaz.

Pakistan looked underwhelming in their heavy loss against India and will have to up their performances by a big margin if their are to harbour any hopes of beating a balanced and dangerous South Africa side. Unlike Pakistan, South Africa looked to have covered all their bases in their opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka where they eventually ran out as comfortable winners. On paper, they look one of the best sides in the tournament with a world class batting, bowling and fielding unit. They will now look forward to their skipper AB de Villiers finding some form and in such a scenario, the whole complexion of the tournament could change as on his day, the South African remains the most dangerous player in ODI cricket.

Pakistan face a do-or-die situation when they take on one of the favourites for the tournament South Africa in a Group B encounter at Edgbaston in Birmingham in the 2017 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan looked underwhelming in their heavy loss against India and will have to up their performances by a big margin if their are to harbour any hopes of beating a balanced and dangerous South Africa side.

Unlike Pakistan, South Africa looked to have covered all their bases in their opening match of the tournament against Sri Lanka where they eventually ran out as comfortable winners. On paper, they look one of the best sides in the tournament with a world class batting, bowling and fielding unit. They will now look forward to their skipper AB de Villiers finding some form and in such a scenario, the whole complexion of the tournament could change as on his day, the South African remains the most dangerous player in ODI cricket.

South Africa justified their tags as one of the favorites to win the ICC Champions Trophy by beating a Sri Lankan unit which looked under the radar for most parts in the game. South Africa put into bat first scored 299/6 in their 50 overs. Sri Lanka in reply could only put up a score of 203 all out on the board. With this, South Africa won the match by 96 runs and top Group B with the other two teams in the group, India and Pakistan facing off tomorrow.

Hashim Amla was the undisputed star of the show, being at his elegant best scoring 103 off 115 balls. In the process, he broke another record of Virat Kohli’s, becoming the quickest man in ODI history to score 25 hundreds. The pitch at the Kensington Oval was not as easy to bat on as the pitch which was on offer for the match between Bangladesh and England. The South Africa batting order boasting of some of the best stroke makers in the world could not time many deliveries and could only post 299 runs on the board.

Sri Lankan stand-in captain Upul Tharanga has won the toss and elected to field first in the first match of Gropu B encounter of the 2017 edition of ICC Champions Trophy between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Kensington Oval in London. Sri Lanka are playing three seamers while Lasith Malinga is back in the playing XI as well.

AB de Villiers says that they wanted to bowl first as well but says that they are well prepared for the game and hopes to do little damage in the 1st two overs itself. Says that they are very excited for the tournament and they’re ready to go. Morne Morkel is in along with David Miller in the team.

South Africa and Sri Lanka will meet in the first match of Group B at the Kensington Oval in London in the 2017 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. South Africa will start the match as heavy favourites against a Sri Lankan unit without their influential skipper Angelo Mathews and a team which is in transition.

South Africa head into the tournaments as one of the favourites to lift the trophy, but they will have the tag of perennial chokers hanging over their heads. They will have to show mental steel and resolve in the big moments, which they have failed to do on many occasions, in order to go all the way in the tournament.

Sri Lanka on the other hands don’t have the weight of expectations hanging over their heads, which could well turn out to be a massive bonus for them. They will feel that with other teams taking them lightly, they could deliver a heavy jolt to them.

South Africa ODI captain AB de Villiers has slammed the on-field umpires Chris Gaffeney and Rob Bailey for insinuating that South Africa was trying to tamper with the ball during their second ODI against England in South Africa.

In the 33th over of the match, de Villiers was involved in an animated chat with the two umpires over the conditions of the ball that was being used. Under the new tampering rules, the umpires are expected to speak to the fielding captain if they feel that the exterior condition of the ball has been hampered by unnatural circumstances. With that, if the umpires find that the ball’s condition has been altered, the ball will just have to be changed and the fielding captain will have to be reported.

Former India coach Gary Kirsten and former South African all-rounder Eric Simons will help the South African cricket team appoint their new coach. Both have been appointed as a member of a panel which will note down a potential list of candidates and then would select a new coach of the South African cricket team. Both Kirsten and Simons have worked with the South African national team previously as coaches.

The committee to appoint the new coach will also include Norman Arendse SC, Rihan Richards and Oupa Nkagisang. Announcing the decision to form a committee to appoint a new coach, Chris Nenzani, chairman of Cricket South Africa said in a press conference, “here has been uninformed negativity in the media about the Board’s decision to start a process to recruit a coach for the Men’s Senior National Team. But the reasons for our doing this were obvious and the committee we have appointed to oversee the process will make sure that we have all bases covered.”

South Africa pace bowler Dale Steyn has ruled himself out of the 4-match Test series scheduled to take place in July this year. Steyn got injured in November 2016 during the Perth Test against Australia and has not played any form of cricket since then.

He had hurt his shoulder while bowling and went under the knife for the same. Since then Steyn missed the New Zealand Test series, Sri Lanka series at home and also the Indian Premier League 2017.

Now, the South African pacer is set to miss the all-important England Test series. He said while speaking to Sport 24 on the occasion of Cricket South Africa awards. “I am able to do a lot of things, like running, hiking and gym work, but bowling is not one of them, and I won’t be ready in time (for England).”

South African one-day captain AB de Villiers revealed in an interesting tale that how Ricky Ponting had snubbed him after the Australian had reached a century and de Villiers had went over to congratulate him. de Villiers further revealed that the same incident led to him gaining a lot of respect for Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath.

The incident happened when South Africa were touring Australia in 2006. Ricky Ponting had just scored a century and de Villiers went over to congratulate Ricky Ponting during the break and Ponting snubbed the young South African by giving him a dismissive stare. de Villiers told ESPN Cricinfo, “It happened when I was new to international cricket. Ponting had just hit a century and, during the break, I tapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him. He looked at me, shook his head and turned away in a dismissive way.”

Faf du Plessis, South Africa’s Test and T20I captain and an integral part of Rising Pune Supergiants in the IPL, has hinted at international retirement. A fashionable icon off the field, While speaking to GQ magazine on his international career, du Plessis said, “ “I see myself heading towards the 2019 World Cup playing all formats of the game and then calling time on my career.”

Faf du Plessis also hinted that along with him, many other senior players are going to end their swansong on the international scene, even though he did not go on and name them. When he speak about AB de Villiers and his decision to stay away from the Test scene in order to gear up for the World Cup 2019, Faf said, “I can’t sit and say he should be playing Test cricket because the guy has been doing it for 12 years and 106 Tests. It translates to so much time away from home and people have to understand that there is a human side of the decision to consider.”

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